2012 Chrysler 200 Touring Convertible from North America

Summary:

Fun!

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car so far, but I've only had it for 8 months.

General Comments:

Very good pick up; you can actually squeal the tires. I actually had to change the way that I accelerate to avoid squealing the tires when starting from a stopped position. Nice controls.

We have the basic Touring model, but with the optional larger engine, larger wheels, and stainless exhaust tip. These were the only options. Hard to believe, but this car did not come with standard Bluetooth. Also, the Touring does not come with standard lighted vanity mirrors -- this came as a surprise, as we never thought to look for this before buying.

Very good gas mileage, especially considering that this is a pretty large car as far as the outside dimensions go. It's a foot longer than our 2012 Jeep Liberty, and also wider.

Another complaint would be the part of the roof that has the sun visors. It's wide, and situated so that when you're stopped at a red light, you have to awkwardly bend down to see when it turns green. I am a very average 6 feet tall, so it's not because I'm too tall. If you don't bend down/over to look, you can't see the light.

The trunk is huge *IF* you have the top up. With the top down, the trunk is tiny and you'd be lucky to squeeze in a week's worth of groceries. Forget about taking this car on a long trip with more than yourself and one other, because you'll need to put your luggage in the back seat if you plan to ever take the top down. I suppose this is true for most all convertibles, however, so I don't hold this against Chrysler, and most people already realize the trunk space issue when buying a convertible anyway.

It's amazing to see the top go up and down, even after seeing it happen dozens of times now. That part, along with the LED headlights, are works of art. Although I've never driven this car faster than maybe 75 mph, I'm sure it could easily go faster than 100 mph -- it feels like it has that much power. I haven't ever come close to putting my foot all the way to the floor.

This is a fun car, and I'd buy it again with no regrets.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th December, 2012

29th Dec 2012, 15:27

Do you have the steel convertible top? That would explain the lack of trunk space for most newer convertibles.

My 2001 Sebring has a rather huge trunk. Top up or down, as did my Saab 9-3 convertible - both soft-tops.

30th Dec 2012, 17:28

I have just the standard (black) cloth top. The Chrysler convertibles from 2008 forward (Sebring 2008-10, and 200 2011 until now) have a different type of roof, I'm guessing. Both the metal and the cloth tops have a complicated (yet fascinating) mechanism to put the top up and down. The trunk lid lifts up 'backwards', and the top ends up folded down into the trunk, taking up about 75% of the space. Then, the trunk lid folds back down, and you're good to go. It looks like something from a science fiction movie when you see it in action, and also looks like a lot could go wrong or get broken too (knock on wood).

I did get the extended warranty, because it's not too hard to imagine some expensive problem with the roof a few years down the road.

1st Jan 2013, 11:44

For what it is worth, my Saab 9-3 had a similar system & never broke down.

2011 Chrysler 200 LX 2.4 I4 from North America

Summary:

The car is satisfactory in most areas

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong.

General Comments:

The new 200 LX rides smoother than the previous 2004 Sebring. The steering is very quick and precise.

However, there is some wind noise caused by the raised surface jutting out on the 200 badging at the rear door windows. I put some black caulking under these black pieces. It has helped. When the rear windows are down, there is severe wind buffeting in the back seat.

The cold from the A/C is much improved, as well as heat from the heater as compared to our old car.

The seats are much higher, and make for greater ease of entry and exiting the car. There is plenty of headroom in the front seats. The leg area on the drivers side is a bit narrow, and I find the side of my right leg rubbing against the console. The rear door where it hinges is too close to the seats, making it difficult to put your feet into the car when entering.

The car has some very bad blind spots. The roof pillars are very wide at the doors and where the roof meets the trunk. The headrests, front and back, stick up very high. But this is a problem in most new cars with multiple air bags.

Some nice features on the LX base model such as outside temp. display, adjustable driver's side seat height, adjustable front arm rest and rear seat folding arm rest.

The gas mileage is around 30-31 mpg combined in Canadian gallons. Have not given the 200 a good run yet.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th December, 2011

4th Nov 2012, 07:21

Original Poster Update.

Have not had any problems since purchase. Now have 32,000kms, and the gas mileage is still the same at 31 combined; a far cry from the company rating of 42 highway and 28 city. This is the worst mileage of all the Dodge and Chrysler cars we have owned (both 4 and 6 cylinder). The low profile tires have poor traction in the rain, and I will need to buy narrower tires for the snow. Not sure if I would recommend this car now!